1. 'To the extent that a logical historical development leading toward capitalism is presented- as in the analysis of the value form in the first chapter of Capital- this logic must be understood as being retrospectively apparent rather than immanently necessary. The latter form of historical logic does exist, according to Marx, but, as we shall see, it is an attribute of the capitalist social formation alone.'
- This statement argues the powerlessness of society against the apparently unstoppable system of capitalism- we can only see its effects once they've happened, as opposed to implementing once we see it as 'neccessary'. Under what pretexts does Postone bestow upon capitalism the strength of being an unaffectable force we only witness not control in contrast to other systems (most obviously socialism)?
2. 'Marx explicitly and emphatically rejects the notion that the law of value was valid for, or derived from, a precapitalist society of commodity owners.'
- What determines/ characterises a society of commodity owners that does not function under capitalism? When do we place this type of society i.e. can we contextualise a 'precapitalist society of commodity owners'?
3. 'Value, on the other hand, is the objectification of abstract labour. It is, in Marx's analysis, a self-distributing form of weatlh: the distribution of commodities is effected by what seems to be inherent to them- value'
- Postone's argument of value as a 'self-distributing' form of wealth implies a lack of human influence in the different forms of distribution (i.e. movements and trends in the market etc). On this basis, how can we (or can we at all) justify human strategies of creating value, such as the push marketing strategy.